Have learnt from
mistakes: Virat

Hamilton: Often criticised for letting his emotions get the better of him even on the field, Virat Kohli conceded that he made a few mistakes early on in his career, but has now realised that “use of words” is not necessary in a face-off.

“I have made a few mistakes early on that I do admit and there have been times when I have gone over the top and done things that you shouldn’t do in international cricket.

“But that’s how you learn,” Kohli said on Tuesday, the eve of India’s second ODI against New Zealand, at the Seddon Park.

Asked about the changed approach, Kohli said he is evolving and learning to be more composed.

“People have to realise I am not 21 anymore. I am growing up. I am not that immature that I don’t know where to control my aggression.

“Obviously, if I wasn’t able to control my aggression, I would be nowhere. My career would have been over before it started,” he said.

It was Kohli’s 12th hundred, in Napier, while chasing in the ODIs and on previous 11 occasions, he had been able to take his team home.

“While chasing, you know how many runs you need to get and that is something I have always taken as a positive,” he said.

Both the top and the middle order fell apart, with four batsmen falling to shorts balls, a ploy deployed with aplomb by the Black Caps.

“It’s a personal choice of any team, what sort of plan they want to come up with against us. I think a lot of teams have tried to bounce us out. But that hasn’t been the case for the longest time that I have seen,” Kohli said of New Zealand’s tactics.

“In most cases, the bouncer is a plan to set you up for the next ball and make sure you nick it. A bouncer is never to scare you away, it is just to put in the batsman’s head that there might be a short ball coming — another one — because you have two in the over now.”

“As international cricketers, we have got to be good enough to stand up to that challenge and fit enough to actually react to those deliveries. That’s where your fitness counts as well,” Kohli added.

Kohli said only a fit batsman would be capable of reacting well to the short delivery.

“If you are not fit enough, you might not have the reflexes to actually tackle a ball thrown at 150 kmph to you and you might be totally exposed or found in a very uncomfortable spot. We should be prepared to face anything,” he explained. (PTI)